Rumour mill: Heron Tower could be sold to Chinese insurance group for £750m

The deal could be sealed “within weeks”

Chinese insurance group Anbang Insurance is reportedly ready to fork out over £750m to snap up Heron Tower.

The 46-storey tower is part-owned by property magnate Gerald Ronson, Oman’s sovereign wealth fund, and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd.

According to the Sunday Times, Anbang Insurance could snap up the tower “within weeks”.

The insurance giant, which bought New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel for almost $2bn last year, is in talks with American advisory firm Eastdil Secured for the deal.

Last year, Heron Tower was renamed after its biggest tenant Salesforce. This angered many, including one of its tenants Powa Technologies.

Anthony Sharp, Powa Technologies’ deputy chairman, told us last year:

“As one of the tallest buildings in London, Heron Tower is an important landmark for the city and has become a part of its heritage. This played a major role in our decision to make the building the global HQ of Powa Technologies – it is a distinct part of the skyline and the name is synonymous with the financial district.

“We are opposed to the idea of a UK landmark being named for a US-based company. We believe that British innovation should remain British, and the government must encourage and nurture our home grown British brands and embrace them as an important part of ‘Brand UK’.

“We are a leading global technology innovator with extraordinary momentum and international recognition. We are especially proud to have Heron Tower as our home as its landmark status is a symbolic emblem of Britain’s global success on the world business stage. We should cherish its name as an important part of our heritage.”